WHY IS THE MUSLIM WORLD SILENT ABOUT YEMEN?

HASEEB RIZVI

Why are we silent about the Saudi-led coalition of ‘Muslim’ Arab nations bombing and killing civilian Muslims in Yemen – yet outraged when Israel does the same in Gaza? Is this not a double standard?

The Saudi regime has led a bombing campaign against the Yemeni people for the last two months, in which at least 1,528 civilians have been killed, and 3,605 have been injured; 100’s of which are children – according to recent UN estimates. The Saudi-led airstrikes have also targeted and destroyed civilian infrastructure as well as historical heritage sites of great value according to UNESCO. It’s worth noting that Yemen is amongst the poorest of the the Arab nations.

The Saudi regime has also blocked aid from being delivered to the increasingly desperate people in need and in a bid to prevent aid supplies being delivered, has even resorted to bombing runways to deter planes carrying aid from landing. On Friday, a UN-proposed ceasefire – to allow desperately needed aid to reach civilians – was violated by the Saudi-led coalition within hours.

The irony would be laughable, if it wasn’t so tragic.

The coalition of Arab nations, made up mostly of unelected and despotic rulers, have stated their reasoning behind the assault on the Yemen, to defend the democratic right of the elected government; whose president isconveniently seeking refuge in Riyadh. The irony would be laughable, if it wasn’t so tragic.

They have also suggested their actions is to thwart the ‘growing’ influence of Iran in the region, although there is very little evidence of ties between the Houthis and Iran – other than perhaps sharing the same idealogy of Shia Islam. Cables leaked by Wikileaks show the paranoia Saudi Arabia and other Arab nations have with Iran’s growing influence and weary of a ‘Shia expansion’.

This narrative of Houthis (which make up at least 45% of the Yemeni population) being an Iranian proxy has been fuelled vastly by Arab and Western mainstream media who constantly refer to the Houthi fighters as ‘Iranian backed’ – with little evidence. This narrative also negates the fact that Houthi rebels are allied with other factions, such as the forces loyal to previous Yemeni president, Saleh – who are not Houthi.

So far, the main beneficiary of the Saudi-led airstrikes on Yemen, has been Al Qaeda and ISIS – which have both escalated their attacks against Shia Muslims over the last two months. Many analysts have argued that Saudi Arabia, nor its allies, are concerned with this development.

Yet the Saudi regime is persisting with its attacks, whilst failing to meet any of its objectives that it set out at the beginning of this onslaught. Much like how Israel has failed on countless occasions to meet its objectives when carrying out airstrikes against the Palestinian resistance.

Why are we not equally outraged?

But why has the Muslim world been mostly silent on this issue? Where is the same outrage as was seen around the world when Israel attacked Gaza? Why are we not equally outraged, when the same aggression and tactics are being used to kill innocent civilians and cause so much carnage? Where are the social media campaigns and protests calling for the killings to be stopped?

Or is it because the aggressors in this conflict call themselves ‘Muslims’?

As Muslims we must speak out against any and every form of oppression, not least when it is Muslims being killed and it is Muslim heritage sites that are being destroyed. We should not, and simply cannot ignore the crimes being committed against the poor people of Yemen by the Saudi regime and its Arab allies – because they call themselves ‘Muslims’. Nor should we buy into the sectarian narrative that Houthis are Shia Muslims, and that somehow makes it okay for them to be killed.

“O you who believe! Stand out firmly for justice, as witnesses to Allah, even as against yourselves, or your parents, or your kin, and whether it be (against) rich or poor: for Allah can best protect both. Follow not the lusts (of your hearts), lest you swerve, and if you distort justice or decline to do justice, verily Allah is well-acquainted with all that you do.”

– The Holy Qur’an (4:135)

On a side-note, yet bearing great poignance – Yemenis marches in their thousands last Friday on Al Quds Day in solidarity with the Palestinian cause. This, whilst they themselves are under the same level of aggression albeit from a different oppressor.

Respect.

Saudi pumping millions to promote Wahhabism in India

India TV News Desk

The diplomatic documents released by WikiLeaks last week have revealed that Saudi Arabia is pumping in millions of rupees into India for opening of religious trusts and non-governmental organisations. WikiLeaks have disclosed an undated document that contains a list of Indian institutions and societies that have applied for financial assistance from the Arab nation.The document suggests that the government of Saudi Arabia itself pledged donations to nine such institutions located across different states, including Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Kerala and Maharashtra.

Saudi Arabia pledged 4.5 million Saudi Riyal (SR) to different institutions in Kerala only.Similarly, In Uttar Pradesh, 75,000 SR were pledged to two different societies for establishing a Madrasa building and a vocational centre for girls.

The documents also reveal that the Secretariat General of the Muslim World League in Mecca, a controversial organisation with alleged links to terror funding, had requested Saudi Arabia to establish the organisation’s Salafi or Wahhabi centres in India.Wikileaks that has published more than 60000 leaked cables from Saudi Arabia, also revealed that the country was concerned about Iran’s “growing influence” and outreach to the Shia community in India.It is worth a mention that, India's Shia population is the world's second-largest after Iran. 

Unlike the Arab countries, differences between Shias and Sunnis in India are doctrinal, and mainly in areas such as ritual law, theology and religious organisation.

Also Read: Islamic State's nightmare: Rival group uses ISIS's own tactics against them in new video“To counter the increasing Shia influence, a certain section in the Saudi establishment has been propagating Wahhabism in India," says an MHA official in an interview to Sunday Guardian.

In the last three-four years there has been a steady rise in Wahhabi preachers coming to India to conduct seminars."There is no doubt that Wahhabism is getting stronger in the country, especially in Kerala, mainly because of the radicalisation of a large number of local youth who are going to Saudi Arabia in search of employment. Kerala has been showing signs of sharp radicalisation. 

This was the only state where posters mourning the death of Osama Bin Laden had come up and a prayer for Ajmal Kasab was also held after he was hanged," warned the official.Donations from Saudi are pouring in and playing a key role in this process, which is being repeated across other parts of the country as well.